


from the first hello that bright night (play us a pretty song and everyone would dance)

by sammyspreadyourwings



Series: Rock Around the October (Rocktober 2020) [4]
Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Burlesque Club, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Early Queen (Band), Established Relationship, F/F, First Meetings, Late at Night, Sexual Humor, fem!queen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:42:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26840839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sammyspreadyourwings/pseuds/sammyspreadyourwings
Summary: Bridgette and Jacky find a burlesque club and decide to see what it's about.
Relationships: John Deacon/Brian May
Series: Rock Around the October (Rocktober 2020) [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1952968
Comments: 12
Kudos: 10





	from the first hello that bright night (play us a pretty song and everyone would dance)

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Burlesque Dancer
> 
> I went a place with this. Please enjoy!

Bridgette holds Jacky’s hand as they wander through the streets of London’s nightlife. She lets out another long sigh and adjusts the grip on her guitar case.

“Oh Bri,” Jacky squeezes her hand, “they’re missing out, you know that.”

“It’s the eighth band we’ve been rejected from,” Bridgette shrugs, “and you know why.”

“If only wanting to be a rock star paid the bills, hm?”

She laughs, “we need a singer and a drummer – a drummer at the very least even though I don’t agree with you about my voice.”

Jacky steps ahead of her and they spin together until Bridgette feels her back pressed against the wall as Jacky nips at her lips. Before pulling away with wide eyes. Bridgette pouts.

“What’s up?”

Bridgette follows her gaze; through the small alley she can see the flashing of a neon sign. Someone is standing outside, Bridgette can see how the pink light glows off their hair, but she can’t see anything else.

“C’mon let’s have some fun,” Jacky pulls her through the alley. By the time they cross the street the person had vanished.

“Burlesque?” she asks.

Jacky shrugs, “I think it’s like sexy Broadway?”

“I see.”

“Want to?”

“I could use a drink,” Bridgette lifts her guitar, “but.”

“I want to Bri,” she looks back, “we can put Red in the trunk for a few hours, please?”

She looks down at the guitar and then at her girlfriend, “okay, only a few though!”

* * *

Bridgette curses at the entry fee, but Jacky is staring around the club with wide eyes, her gray eyes dazzling like the chandelier dangling over the dining area. They grab a waitress and order two shots of vodka and two fancy slushie drinks. The lights on the stage are off and the curtains are closed.

“Did you see the help wanted sign?” Jacky sips on her drink, “mm, strawberry, they were looking for members for the band.”

“Let’s see what is going on first,” Bridgette reaches over to try some of Jacky’s drink – it’s much sweeter than hers but she loves the sourness of the lemon.

Jacky steals hers and wrinkles her nose, “how do you like that?”

“S’good.”

The curtains go up and about twelve girls rush out on stage with beautiful, jeweled corsets and tutus. They crouch and Bridgette's eyebrows lift as she notices they’re all in heels. Bad music swells, and she picks out that there are some gaps in it, they sound like they’re missing a bassist at least and the people on guitar sound clumsy.

“Explains the add, no?” Jacky says, but her eyes are glued to the stage.

Bridgette watches the dancers shimmy to some upbeat swing music, probably from the twenties before the music swells and reveals two more dancers.

“The headliners,” Bridgette chews on her straw.

Jacky nods.

The music stops just as the two dancers hit mid-stage. They toss off their hats and Bridgette’s mouth drops at the reveal. The first dancer, the one that didn’t crouch with the hat toss has beautiful dark curls, her eyes scan the crowd – she doesn’t know how she knows that but those eyes capture her. The woman purses her lips and kisses out.

Bridgette pulls her eye lower, observing the sheer white fabric, the thicker lines of silk covering anything anyone would want to see. She looks at the woman who is crouching – there are no words other than beautiful to describe her. Her blonde hair is pulled into a messy bun, delicate curls touch her face.

And her eyes! They’re the most stunning blue. Her lips are pulled into a pout.

They pull apart, the blonde is apparently in pointe shoes as she raises onto her leg and kicking the other one up. Her outfit matches the others in a dark black. Bridgette can’t pull her gaze away from the stage as they perform.

There is a break in the music, as it fills into a piece that is specifically composed for this venue. Each dancer takes a second to introduce themselves. Bridgette leans forward, curious to catch at the very least the stage names of the girl.

The dark-haired girl crosses on leg delicately over the other as she pulls herself up from a back arch, and purrs out “Mercury, the hottest one.”

Bridgette blushes at the wink Mercury sends the crowd, a glance to Jacky tells her that the brunette is feeling the same.

The blonde draws attention to her by kicking her foot in the air near Mercury’s face. Mercury playfully looks disgusted and pushes it down.

“And a Rose by any other name is just as…” she pauses, and Bridgette shifts in her seat at the rasp of her voice, “thorny.”

When the song ends, it's like a fog is being lifted. Bridgette shakes her head and looks at Jacky.

“Wow,” Jacky says.

“They were beautiful.”

Bridgette sucks on her mostly melted drink, closing her eyes as it tastes more of alcohol than of the sour lemon of before.

“One more round?” She asks Jacky.

“Yes,” Jacky nods.

By the time they get their drinks the next dance has ended, and the back curtains are pulled closed, but they aren’t the dark red from before. Jacky reaches and grabs her hand.

“I bet it’s one of those two girls,” Jacky says.

Bridgette narrows her eyes at the heavy opening notes, but Mercury is walking gracefully down the stairs. Her outfit has changed, she wears a dress of pearls – and how does she not accidentally have a nip slip – with a white boa wrapped around her arms. She kicks her leg up a cymbal.

 _“The minute you walked in the joint,”_ she sings.

Bridgette falls in love with the voice, it is confident and smooth, and she can tell that Mercury loves this, loves being on stage. Bridgette holds onto Jacky’s hand as she gets pulled back into this singer’s world.

 _“I could see you were a… **woman** of distinction,”_ Bridgette swears that Mercury is looking straight at her.

Her dance isn’t as flamboyant as the introductory dance, but she prowls around the stage, tossing her boa around one of the band members before waltzing back to center stage. Bridgette doesn’t realize that the song is ending until Mercury is pulling the curtains over her body and giggling loudly before vanishing.

“I wouldn’t mind working here,” Jacky says mildly, “they might hire women without complaint.”

“We’ll look for the manager after the show,” Bridgette flags down their waitress to order waters for both.

A contortionist act starts up and Bridgette takes the second to calm herself. Jacky brushes against her leg and they play with each other’s feet for a few moments. Giggling to themselves. Bridgette things briefly to her guitar in the trunk.

“Maybe not the entire show… Red,” Bridgette says softly.

“Right, well, we’ll have to come back.”

Piano notes fill the room, and the spotlight swings down onto the piano. Rose is sitting on the bench dragging her finger down the player's throat. She turns around and Bridgette is drawn in by the beautiful red velvet gown she wears. The skirt in the front barely touches the top of her thighs but the back half of the skirt drags across the floor.

Her bright blue eyes connect with Bridgette’s, _“I put a spell on you.”_

The rasp in her voice is thick, but her tone is enchanting. She stands up and practically glides across the stage, _“because you’re **mine**.”_

Jacky’s mouth drops open and Bridgette skims her legs down her calf. Rose doesn’t have the showmanship of Mercury, but she’s elegant and she knows exactly what she wants people to feel, and Bridgette can but help put swoon when she pulls the skirt off, briefly wrapping it around her shoulders before tossing it to the side, without missing a single beat.

At the end of her song, she blows a kiss and wiggles her fingers before striding off stage.

“Well,” Bridgette coughs.

“We really should find that manager.”

**Author's Note:**

> As always, leave your thoughts and comments below or come talk to me on tumblr!
> 
> Songs:  
> Rose: I put a spell on you  
> Freddie: Big Spender - Peggy Lee


End file.
